Light Within Shadow
by Icy Cake
Summary: Patroklos believed that his mother banished the very evil that had haunted his dreams long ago. However, it has suddenly returned, threatening to pull the boy deep within its grasp...


A/N: I have created a new story, much to my own surprise. I have been stumped with writer's block for Through Time and Back and this story suddenly came to fruition. It's only a momentary story - a side-project you could say - something I'll continue to work on depending on how well it is received by you readers. The storyline follows after the events of SC2 and Through Time and Back so consider this an AU in respect to SC3 and SC4.

Do take the time to read this story and feel free to criticize any mistakes I've done.

Edit: I've fixed that terrible mistake of having Pyrrha's name spelled as 'Prryha'. (How did I mess that up?)

Now, I hope you enjoy this story that I hope is both unique and interesting!

* * *

**Light Within Shadow**

Patroklos couldn't remember the last time he had experienced the terrifying nightmare. It was a dark, terrible dream that had constantly haunted his sleep when he was barely five years old. Not only did the nightmare affect him but his younger sister, Pyrrha, had the same dream as well. Together, they suffered through restless nights, never to sleep alone but within the comfort of their father for their mother had left on an important quest; "a quest to stop the nightmare," Father had told them, always describing the whereabouts of their mother in a grand tale whenever night had fallen and the children would refuse to sleep.

"A brave, strong woman blessed by the gods," Father would say to them of their mother, "granted the wisdom and power to banish all evil."

An enthralling story that always lasted into the middle of the night; just knowing how strong their mother was, Patroklos and Pyrrha believed in their mother's strength and often prayed for her everyday she was gone.

When the nightmare had stopped, the children knew then that their mother had banished the evil that gave them the horrible dream.

Four years had passed since then and that nightmare had been nothing more but a forgotten memory.

However… in the midst of a fevered sleep, the nightmare had suddenly returned.

As vivid as ever, the large, scary yellow eye stood out amongst the infinite darkness, staring directly at the boy with an intense ferocity. Cold and alone, Patroklos stood within nothingness, petrified by the ugly eye that nary blinked.

The boy did not like it – he was afraid of it. Too scared to move, his body felt like lead.

A voice whispered all around, its harsh, deep, demonic tone making the boy tremble violently in fear. Words that were spoken were unfamiliar. Patroklos could not understand it but that did not lessen the fear that shook his nerves.

It was unlike the dream he had in the past – there never had been a voice. The nightmare was different and because of that it frightened him deeply.

Too overwhelmed, Patroklos cried out, screaming uncontrollably through tears.

"Patroklos!"

Strong arms wrapped around him and lifted him up. Gone was the cold as something warm embraced him in a comforting hold. He clung dearly to the warm body, burying his head into the silky fabric adorning it. His sobs were softly hushed as his mother's gentle voice sounded through his ears as he was held on her lap; "It was only a dream. Don't cry now. Don't cry. Everything's okay." Her words combined with the gentle stroking of his back calmed the boy down.

He sniffled his nose and wiped the remains of his tears on Mother's night gown.

"It was that nightmare again, Mama," he told her, pulling slightly away to look at her face illuminated by the pale moonlight shining through the glass-window. Long, strands of light-coloured hair framed her kind complexion while her gentle green eyes looked upon her son with compassion.

"That nightmare?" his mother questioned, furrowing her brow. She brushed a hand over the boy's damp cheek then felt his forehead before the boy would answer.

With a nod, Patroklos explained to her, "The one with the scary eye…"

He saw Mother's eyes widen before feeling her body stiffen. Her mouth was agape – she did not say anything until a young girl's voice sounded by the door.

"Mama? Is Patkos okay?"

Patroklos turned towards the doorway of his room, seeing his younger sister and father coming inside. Pyrrha was rubbing her sleepy eyes and clutching tightly to her stuffed doll while Father looked on just beside the doorframe.

"Pyrrha," Mother addressed her daughter, waving at the girl to come close. "Did you have a bad dream too?" she asked when the small girl was drawn into a hug.

Pyrrha shook her head. "No, I heard brother crying," she answered honestly, peering at Patroklos with a worried frown.

Mother seemed quite relieved and held both children tightly. "Thank the gods," she murmured quietly. She gave Patroklos a kiss on his forehead before giving the boy a calm smile. "It was only a nightmare caused by your fever, Patroklos. Close your eyes and forget about it."

"But Mama –" the boy tried to protest but his mother simply placed a finger over his lips and hushed.

"It was only a bad dream. Do not worry," Mother assured him, stroking his hair. "Go back to sleep, okay?"

Patroklos lowered his eyes and hesitated to say, "I… I'm scared to go back to sleep." He did not like to admit his fears to his mother – he did not want her to see him as a child. He was nearly eight! Rarely was he afraid of anything. But that nightmare… it had frightened him badly.

Mother placed a hand over his shoulder just as Pyrrha spoke up. "Mama, can I stay with Patkos?" she asked, tugging at the sleeve of Mother's gown. "I'll sleep with him so he won't be scared."

Patroklos pouted at his sister's suggestion but internally smiled. He really hated showing his fear in front of his sister – she would tease him for being a scaredy-cat. Rarely was it he who would be easily frightened because Pyrrha was afraid of many things unlike Patroklos and it was he who often teased her.

Pyrrha did not make fun of him this time. Being afraid of a nightmare was something neither of them would laugh at.

Pyrrha had experienced the nightmare herself before and understood what Patroklos was currently feeling. The siblings had always shared a bed when they were younger, back when their nights were haunted by the dream. They took comfort in knowing that either one was there to protect the other when the nightmare startled them from their sleep.

Their mother softly sighed and patted the girl on the head. "All right," she obliged with a small smile. "Be sure not to fall out of bed."

Pyrrha had already climbed onto the bed and tucked herself under her brother's sheets closest to the wall before she soundly nodded. "I won't!"

Once more, Mother felt Patroklos's forehead, then gently pushed him to lay his head on his pillow. "You still have a mild fever," she told him, pulling the covers up to his chin. "Get lots of sleep, okay?"

The boy, even though he was assured with his sister's presence, was still anxious to close his eyes in fear of seeing the dreadful eye in his vision. His mother saw his discomfort easily when he slowly nodded in reply.

"Perhaps a song will calm you," Mother suggested, as she sat on the edge of Patroklos's bed once more. "Would you like to hear it?"

"A song?" Pyrrha asked, sounding quite interested as she shifted beneath the covers to gain a clear view of her mother.

Mother nodded and formed a smile that seemed rather sad. "It is a song I had heard many times from a friend a long time ago. It is a melody that will calm your heart and chase away your fears."

Patroklos was highly intrigued and was eager to listen. He stared quietly and intently as Mother began to sing. There were no words to the song she sang – only the hum of the enchanting tune.

The boy was captivated by the strange melody and completely forgot about his worries. In a way, the song seemed rather sad. When his mother ended the song, he was no longer afraid to go back to sleep.

"Forgive me," Mother began with a short laugh, "It would sound better if I had the proper instrument."

Patroklos shook his head. "It was good, Mama. I feel better now."

"That is good. Sleep well then." She brushed a hand down the side of his face before rising off his bed. She strode across the room to meet with Father and together they left the room, closing the door quietly behind them.

Through the wooden door, Patroklos could easily hear his parents talking in low murmurs – he eavesdropped on Mother simply telling his father that the dream was due to the fever Patroklos had caught when he had spent too much time playing out in the rain that morning. (He was having fun making large splashes in the muddy puddles in the street with Theodore, his friend who lived across the street.) Mother had scolded him for getting soaking wet and dirty.

Even though he ended up falling sick with a lousy fever, Patroklos didn't regret the fun he had.

Patroklos was about to close his eyes when Pyrrha lightly poked him in the shoulder. Sleepily, he tilted his head to see his sister peering up at him. "Was your dream really scary?" she whispered.

The boy nodded briskly, not wanting to think about the nightmare too much. "It was about a monster," he lied, wanting to avoid making her sister terrified by the mention of the dreaded eye. "It was real big and mean."

His sister giggled quietly at him then spoke the two words he hated hearing the most: "Scaredy-cat."

"Shut up," he grumbled, giving the girl an annoyed scowl. "Go to sleep, all right? Maybe you'll see the monster now that you're in the same room as me." He said the last part teasingly.

Pyrrha shriveled away from her brother. "What? I-I don't want to see any monsters!" she whimpered, believing the boy easily.

"I'm joking," Patroklos told her, rolling his eyes. "The monster's only in my dream…"

His sister sighed in relief. "Meanie! Don't scare me like that!"

Smirking, Patroklos quietly laughed at her and said, "Who's the scaredy-cat now?"

Pyrrha angrily huffed and turned her back towards him. "I-I'm not a scaredy-cat!" she replied, her voice muffled beneath the covers.

Patroklos broadly grinned; glad to have his sister available for teasing. Not only did she make him forget about the nightmare, having her by his side made sleeping more comfortable. Leaving it at that, the boy let out a tired yawn and closed his eyes.

Seven days had gone by and not once did Patroklos suffer from that nightmare. His mother had been right; it was only a fever dream.

The boy scarfed down his breakfast in a hurry. He was to meet with Theodore by the stone well.

He quickly put on his shoes and grabbed the door. Before he could open it his mother stopped him from the kitchen. "Where are you going?" Mother demanded.

"To play…" he told her shyly, glancing at her from the side to see her stern expression.

Mother crossed her arms and waved a finger at him. "You have just eaten! Do not run around or you will get sick. Now sit."

"But Mama –" the boy began but was abruptly cut off by the wave of her hand. "Do not argue, Patroklos."

The boy furrowed his brow in frustration and pouted.

He _had_ to meet with Theodore! His friend had told him yesterday about a cool, glowing object in the underground tunnels that he wanted to see. Theodore and his older brother, Damien, had discovered the glowing thing deep within a narrow crevasse and couldn't get it out.

"But Mama!" he tried again, ignoring his mother's order. "I promised Theodore I'd meet him this morning!"

"You and Theodore can wait just a moment. Now come back here and _sit_ down." His mother fervently motioned him to return into the kitchen.

Patroklos gave the door one final look before dropping his hand from the knob with a defeated moan. Angry, he stomped noisily towards the kitchen and did not bother taking his shoes off. He plopped heavily into his wooden chair, making it screech along the stone floor.

Pyrrha, who was seated across from him by the rounded stone table, was still eating her porridge. She smirked at him. "Where are you going?" she asked, beaming with curiosity. "Can I come too?"

"No," Patroklos snapped at her. She frowned and made a disappointed noise.

His mother however, decided to further ruin the boy's plan for the morning. "Take your sister along, Patroklos," she said without straying away from the boiling pot atop the wood-burning oven.

"What?! But I –"

Mother turned sharply around and gave the boy a firm stare. "If you do not take Pyrrha then you are not going."

Patroklos could see his sister's eager grin from the corner of his eye as he focused primarily on Mother's stern face.

Again the boy pouted, glowering at his sister. "Fine," he grumbled, making Pyrrha smile with happiness. "Can I go now?" he asked impatiently soon after.

"I'm not done yet!" Pyrrha exclaimed before shoveling spoonfuls of porridge into her mouth.

"When she's done, can we go then?" He altered his question directed to his mother.

Mother sighed and rubbed her forehead. "All right. You may leave then but _no_ running, understand?"

Patroklos soundly nodded. Then to his sister he said, "No running for you."

"_Both_ of you are not to run," Mother enforced, resuming to her cooking.

Groaning, Patroklos slumped onto the table. Tapping his fingers on the marble surface, he prompted his sister to hurry it up; "Eat faster!" he whispered, not wanting his mother to hear him.

"I'm trying!" Prrhya whined, garbling her words through a mouthful of food.

Mentally, the boy chanted for her to eat, eat and eat.

When Pyrrha finally drank the last of her milk, Patroklos bounded off his chair. "We're going now!" he announced, running for the door.

"W-Wait for me!" his sister cried. She was still seated by the kitchen table.

"Patroklos!" his mother bellowed. The boy froze once more with his hand on the knob of the door. "Wait for your sister. You be sure to watch over her and do not stray far from the road, understand?"

"We'll be playing by the well," Patroklos informed her. It was not entirely true however…

Just as Pyrrha was hastily putting her shoes on, Mother said, "Be home by noon. Your uncle will be dropping by with a surprise."

_A surprise?!_

Hearing that eased Patroklos's impatience and filled him with anticipation. He loved Uncle Lucius's surprises! For sure he would be home by noon!

Out the door Patroklos flew with Pyrrha following right behind. Disobeying his mother, the boy ran down the street, swerving around the people occupying the big street and serving as obstacles. He briefly glanced behind him and saw his sister struggling to catch up to him.

"Slow down!" she called.

"I'm late!" he returned, "Don't be such a slowpoke!"

"Patkos!" She pleaded, sounding ready to cry.

The boy slid to a stop and sighed heavily at his sister's weakness.

He waited for her and once she caught her breath, they began to walk the rest of the way.

Mornings were seldom busy down their street. Most of the buildings lined along each side of the wide road consisted of homes. There were a few family-runned shops along the road such as the tailor shop owned by Theodore's father right across the street from Patroklos's house.

Other kids of all ages were seen playing around while adults tended to their daily household chores.

The stone well Patroklos was heading for lay at the plaza at end of the street. It was the source of water for everyone. Many people were around the well, gathering water for the day.

Patroklos searched through the crowd until he recognized Theodore's golden hair that was always spiked back by a hand-woven headband, keeping his hair well-kept even when wet.

Bored blue eyes lit up when they saw Patroklos arrive. "You're late!" Theodore stated needlessly, hopping off the crate he was sitting on. Standing a head taller than the other boy, he crossed his arms over his clean, brown tunic, (that was most likely new), and made an impatient face. Theodore was two years older than Patroklos, smarter and stronger too, much to Patroklos's jealousy.

"Sorry, it was Pyrrha's fault. I had to wait for her," Patroklos explained, making his sister grumble at him.

The older boy raised an eyebrow at the girl standing behind Patroklos. "She's coming too?" Theodore suddenly grinned. "That's a good idea, actually," he mused. "Her hands are smaller than ours. She could reach into the hole."

Pyrrha quizzically stared at the blue-eyed boy. "What hole?" she questioned.

Theodore shifted his gaze to the side warily before moving close to whisper, "It's a secret hole I found with my brother. There's a red shiny thing inside of it." He stood back and dabbed a finger at her. "Don't tell anyone, okay?"

She soundly nodded with a small smile.

"Then let's go!" Theodore led the way, dashing into a narrow alley close to where they stood.

"Where are we going?" Pyrrha asked when they entered an open street on the other side.

"To the underground ducts," her brother answered as he kept an eye on Theodore's back as they traversed through another crowd of noisy people.

Pyrrha suddenly stopped. "What?! We can't go in there!" she exclaimed. "Mama said not to go far from the street!"

Annoyed, Patroklos waved her over. "Come on. It's not far from here so it'll be fine," he tried to assure his sister. When Pyrrha refused to step forward, the boy formed a teasing smile. "Don't be such a _scaredy-cat_!"

Pyrrha angrily pouted and shouted, "I'm not!"

"Then hurry up!"

The girl still hesitated, her brow furrowed in worry.

Patroklos reached out and grabbed her hand. "Come on!" He pulled her along and she wordlessly followed. Her grip was tight – she was obviously nervous. She really disliked disobeying Mother.

Theodore was tapping his foot by another alleyway. "You guys are slow," he commented before turning around to enter the dim passage. The walls on either side muffled the buzzing noise of the crowds behind them.

A quiet worn down road with only a few people around was on the other side of the alley. Some buildings were very old, bearing ugly cracks and other damage. A few were abandoned but have become homes to many stray animals.

Theodore led them down a dirt slope located between a collapsed building and an old shack. There was a tunnel made of old stone and wood and the sound of running water could be heard inside.

It was dimly lit inside by natural light shining through the many holes caused by the deteriorating rock. It was intimidating nonetheless, being darker than the outside and haunted with a constant howl of the wind.

Patroklos had entered the tunnel a few times before with Theodore and was never afraid. However, it seemed rather different than usual to the boy that day… the entrance appeared larger and darker too. The wind blowing through was icy cold, sending shivers down his spine. It gave him a bad feeling…

Anxious, he bit his lip as he began to follow his friend inside. However, Pyrrha did not follow.

"I…I don't want to go in there…" she whimpered, clutching to Patroklos's hand tightly. "It's… scary."

The boy frowned at his sister but did not make fun of her for being afraid. He relatively felt the same. He glanced at the shadows where his friend waited then back to his sister's frightened green eyes. Gently, he squeezed her hand and smiled. "You wait here," he said, "I'll go with Theodore to get the shiny thing and I'll show it to you. Okay?"

"But Patkos…"

"We'll be quick," the boy assured, releasing his hold. "Go play with the cats."

There was a pause before she finally nodded. "Okay…"

With that, Patroklos gave her a final smile before joining his friend in the darkened tunnel.

"Your sister's not coming?" Theodore asked as he glanced back at the watching girl.

The younger boy shook his head. "She's afraid," he said in a quiet tone that was purposely mocking to hide the tremor in his own voice. He did not want Theodore to think that he was scared of the tunnel.

The underground aqueducts were damp and smelly. Dripping water echoed throughout the large tunnel as they neared the main water stream. The further they went, the more unnerved Patroklos became. He couldn't understand why he was feeling so nervous. He tried to keep in pace with Theodore, making sure not to portray his fear.

Before entering the tunnel where the flowing water was visible, Theodore stopped in front of a large crack on the side of the tunnel wall. "In here," he said, pointing to the inside of the black opening. "A rat might've taken it in there and got it stuck."

Patroklos took a wary step forward and crouched beside his friend to peer into the rat hole.

He froze instantly when he saw the red glow of the object deep inside. Cold shivers ran through his body as he stared at the crimson light. It captivated him – its pulsing energy had drawn his entire attention to it. He had seen it before… he was sure of it. He was both afraid and curious to know what that thing was.

"Patroklos? Did you hear me?"

He was suddenly shaken out of his trance. Slowly, he diverted his eyes away from the red light towards his staring friend. "Uh… what?" he murmured, confused.

Theodore gave him a worried look. "I said you should try reaching for it. My hands are too big to fit in there," he said, gesturing at the hole.

"Oh… Okay." Patroklos positioned himself in front of the hole and stuck his right hand inside. He leaned against the tunnel wall, digging his hand around the rat hole, feeling for the object. Cold, rough rock scraped painfully against his skin as he tried to reach for the glowing thing in a blind manner.

He touched something that was colder than the rock, almost like ice. Patroklos slid his finger along the freezing surface but was suddenly met with a sharp, searing pain. Opposite of the ice, the pain was hot like fire and it spread from his fingers and up his arm.

He was blinded by agony; he was lost in the pain.

Seeing nothing but blackness, the boy did not know what had happened or where he was. There was a brief flash of red within the shadow.

And then… there was the yellow _eye _appearing before him.

Its haunting whispers were harsh and clear and it made him freeze with utter dread:

**My child… **

**My child…**

**Come to me…**


End file.
